


Dream SMP one-shots

by soft_cactus



Series: My DreamSMP stories [1]
Category: Dream SMP - Fandom, Minecraft (Video Game), Real Person Fiction, Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Angst, Betrayal, Dream Smp, DreamTeam SMP - Freeform, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Family Dynamics, Friendly Rivalry, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapping, Mild Gore, No Smut, Not Beta Read, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Canon, Protectiveness, Rating May Change, Rivalry, Sad, Sickfic, Slow Updates, Strangers to Friends, Swearing, bamf characters, i kinda cried while writing, l'manberg, like really sad shit, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-12
Updated: 2020-11-18
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:48:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 15,979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26424397
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soft_cactus/pseuds/soft_cactus
Summary: different one-shots and AUs about the Dream SMP(pls read the disclaimer in the first chapter)
Relationships: Clay | Dream & GeorgeNotFound, Clay | Dream & Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream & Toby Smith | Tubbo, Clay | Dream & Wilbur Soot, Dream SMP & L'Manberg, No Romantic Relationship(s), a lot more
Series: My DreamSMP stories [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2081061
Comments: 32
Kudos: 482





	1. A word from the author up front

**Author's Note:**

> If any ccs in this state they are uncomfy with fics/certain plot-points I will take the one-shot down, but I can't keep up with everyone, so if I do something someone is uncomfy with, please let me know in the comments

Hey guys! This is my first time writing in this fandom, so I'm looking forward to that! 

A few disclaimers first up though:

  * no shipping, but I am living for the concept of platonic soulmates and very close platonic friendships
  * while there will be no character bashing, it could be that a few of your faves are the antagonist, but never to an extreme
  * tw for every chapter (if necessary) will be in the summary with a few infos about the one-shot
  * there will be fighting with mention of blood and light gore. most likely nothing too graphic and it will be in the tw, but it will be there
  * all of my one-shots will be in Minecraft, unless I get a good prompt for an irl fic 
  * A LOT OF CURSING! I curse so casually when speak English, I'll probably forget to add it to the TW most of them time, but they will probably curse in every chapter!
  * English isn't my first language so don't be too harsh on me (especially with punctuation) :)
  * I'll probably upload once a week, maybe more, maybe less, idk it really depends on the week



What you can expect from this since I'm a sucker for these:

  * amoral characters (characters doing something bad but not realizing it's bad) realizing their mistakes
  * betrayal arcs with no regret after
  * protective characters
  * characters getting revenge
  * the 'underdog' kicking ass and BAMF characters in general
  * someone getting a reality check (goes hand in hand w an amoral character)
  * (as mentioned already) very intimate platonic friendships or platonic soulmates
  * enemies/rivals uniting for a common goal



... and more :)

if you want to you can give me prompts, I always appreciate those (please know that if you give me shipping prompts I'll change your prompt to a platonic version; if you give an irl prompt i might change it to Minecraft since i prefer writing their personas, but that really depends on the prompt)

pls don't be rude in the comments, if you have a genuine problem with anything i write you can say it in a constructive way, i probably just didn't realize/know something i said was weird/offensive 

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoy my stories :)


	2. after the wars (who will remain)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> prompt by: me  
> Plot: Tubbo meets Dream shortly after the war ended. The next day, Sapnap stands before the walls of L'Manberg with Dream's goodbye message.  
> TW: death; slavery; child-soldiers; self-deprecating thoughts; war; characters blaming themselves  
> Additional info: CHARACTER DEATH!; VERY ANGSTY from start to finish; everyone is sad

Tubbo was walking through the Dream SMP in a hurried pace. He didn't like being here alone. The war ended only a few days ago and Tubbo didn't know whether his enemies would attack him or not. He had yet to meet anyone from the opposition face to face after the war, but he did not like the idea of doing that alone.

The sun was already low, tainting the whole world in a golden tone. It was beautiful. Tubbo stopped on the embassy that had already been repaired for a second to look at the sun. It took a second for his eyes to adjust, but when they did, he flinched and dropped all of the supplies he had gathered. 

Right outside of the embassy, sitting on the fence, was Dream. He had been looking at the sun going down but was interrupted by Tubbo dropping his stuff. From Tubbo's perspective, Dream was just a dark shadow against the sun, from Dream's perspective Tubbo was practically glowing in the bright light.

"Uh, sorry, I'll..." he began gathering his things while not stopping looking at Dream, until he noticed something. What he could see of Dream's face, everything below his nose, was wet and there were drops gathering at his chin. Dream also wasn't sitting upright and confident as he usually did. Instead, he was slouching, as if he had lost all energy. His chest was rising and falling at a quick pace. Dream was crying.

Tubbo slowly straightened again and asked in a quiet tone: "Are you okay?" Dream looked at him for a few seconds before asking: "Tubbo, are you scared of me?" Tubbo froze. "Why?" Dream looked back at the sun and Tubbo carefully approached. His eyes started hurting from staring right next to the sun. He leaned against the fence about two meters away from Dream and looked at him, his eyes were narrowed to protect themselves from the blinding light. 

"Are you scared of me?" Dream repeated and Tubbo looked down. "I guess... yeah. I am." Even if Tubbo couldn't see his face, he knew by the way his jaw clenched he didn't like that answer.

"I failed Tubbo. I failed George, I failed Sapnap, I failed Punz... I failed you and Tommy... I failed everyone," Dream said and Tubbo had to take a second. The emotion in the older man's voice was overwhelming. It was full of anger, pain, disappointment, and hate. Tubbo tried to comfort him: "Dream... we might've gotten our independence, but you still technically won... It was terms of surrender, right?"

Dream scoffed. "I don't care about who won. I..." his voice broke, "I started this server so my friends could have a safe place. A server to stay on when they didn't know where to go. Where they would never be forced to do anything. And I failed. I did exactly what I swore to protect them from. It's all my fault."

"I don't think I understand..." Tubbo confessed and Dream bit his lip. He seemed to consider something, and Tubbo waited. After about 2 minutes he finally said: "Do you know what the 'wars of divitae' are?" Tubbo squinted his eyes and asked: "That's the collective name for all of the separate wars in the upper servers, right?" Dream nodded.

"Where I come from, we call them 'wars of lacrimae'." He looked down and seemed to struggle with the words for a second before saying: "I'm from the lower servers." Tubbo's eyes widened.

The public servers, where most people lived, were divided into three fractions. The upper, middle and lower servers. There were 50 lower servers, 35 middle servers and only 5 upper servers. 13 years ago, there were 10 upper servers, but they were reset and given to the middle servers since they desperately needed more space. It's how the wars of divitae started. 5 kingdoms needed a new place to live and invaded the other 5 kingdoms. As a result, 5 wars broke out simultaneously, the name for all of them collectively was 'wars of divitae' which meant 'wars of wealth'. 

Dream continued in a shaky voice: "Where I come from... everyone fights for themselves. At least that used to be this way. When the war started the kingdoms noticed they didn't have soldiers. They had fighters and knights, but all of them were upper class." He had a bitter tone in his voice. "So, they invaded the lower servers and 'recruited' child soldiers. Everyone old enough to run was old enough to fight in their opinion." He looked down.

Tubbo was frozen. He and everyone else on the server was from the middle servers. He'd never met anyone from the lower servers. Normally people were born there and died there and never made it out to get to different servers. "Did... did they take you?" He asked in a shaky voice and Dream straightened up a bit, looking right into the sun that was nearly gone at the horizon.

"I was 6 when they first came. I managed to escape that time. I was 9 when they returned. I didn't escape then." More tears arrived at his chin. "I fought their war until I was 16. With 16 I ran away and found Sapnap and George. Two happy people from the middle class. They took me in and treated me like a human. That was a first for me."

Tubbo had tears running over his face. He didn't even know they used child-soldiers. He thought all of the people were adult volunteers, not stolen children. "I never told them. I wore a mask, in fear of being recognized and being taken back. I never spoke out." He looked down. "I stayed quiet. I was lucky to escape, and they would make me disappear if they ever found out who I really was. Nobody knows. Only you."

He bit back a sob and continued: "I swore to myself I would get Sapnap and George out of the public servers as soon as possible. I promised I would get them to a private server, where they can find only peace. No war, no conflict. A paradise. I swore to myself I would protect them from any kind of war. And now..." He leaned forward and Tubbo got scared for a second that he would fall down the cliff. "Now I brought the war to them. And to you."

"I don't blame you!" He quickly shouted; his previous fear forgotten. Dream chuckled sadly. "Then you're the only one." Tubbo shook his head. "No! That's not true! Tommy-" Tommy definitely blamed Dream. "Wilbur-" Wilbur even more. "Fundy-" Fundy definitely did too. "Ere-" Eret wasn't even part of their side anymore. He went quiet and Dream nodded. "See?"

Tubbo looked down for a second and then asked in a calm voice: "Why... Why didn't you just give us independence then? If you wanted to avoid a war at all costs... Why?" Dream looked away. His mouth was in a thin line and even if Tubbo couldn't see his face, he knew he was angry, most likely at himself.

"I was stupid. I thought I knew what I was doing. I was naive, dumb and stupid!" His voice grew louder and louder until he shouted the last part and jumped off the fence to Tubbo's side. They could barely make out the walls of L'Manberg from here, but it was visible. "I thought I knew better." He fell to his knees. "And I failed."

Tubbo didn't say a word and just watched the man. It was nearly completely dark, his friends in L'Manberg would soon begin to worry about him, and yet he couldn't bring himself to just leave

Tubbo sat down next to Dream and asked quietly: "What did you think would happen?" Dream sniffled and whispered: "I thought we were all friends. I thought it was just… a joke. I thought at the end of the day we would still joke with each other and we would still be able to enjoy each other's company. I thought we were family. I thought we would be able to talk it out."

He let his head drop down and whispered: "I should've known. I knew I was playing with fire; I should've known I would snap. It's all my fault." Tubbo hesitated. "Snap?"

Dream looked down. "In the training camps… they wanted us to be strong and tough. So, they drilled us to think failure was unacceptable. That when our pride was hurt, we had to fight. I should've known these old habits would come back. I tried so hard but… it's how I was raised; I can't shake it off. And it made me the thing I hate most. Someone who drags children into wars."

Before Tubbo could react, Dream reached up and fiddled with the strap of his mask for a few seconds. Then it was suddenly lose. Dream hesitated a few seconds longer before carefully lowering his hands with his mask and looked at Tubbo.

The sun had already disappeared by now, but it was still light enough to see his facial features. He had green, piercing eyes that were so full of pain and self-hatred that Tubbo got chills. His eyes were bloodshot, and his entire face was wet from tears. But the thing that stood out most was a scar going from his temple, over his cheekbone to his nose, as if someone trailed the features of his eye with a knife. It made him look so much older than just 21.

"Tubbo. I am so sorry. I should've known better. I should've stopped it before it escalated. I'm so sorry." Tubbo shook his head. "Dream, I may not agree with your actions, but you can't blame yourself for this." Dream didn't look like he believed him but didn't argue again. Instead, he stood up, now determined.

"I know what I have to do." He turned to Tubbo and gave him an encouraging smile. "Go home Tubbo. I have to make this right, and I will. I promise." As soon as Tubbo stood Dream pulled him into a long hug, but instead of feeling cornered, Tubbo welcomed the hug with a tight grip. He was scared for the other man.

When he finally let go there were new tears in Dream's eyes and he whispered: "It'll be ok Tubbo. I promise. I'll make it right." Then he left, walking quickly towards his base. Tubbo looked after him for a few seconds until he finally gathered his supplies back up and headed to L'Manberg.

He could see Tommy waiting in the entrance, as soon as he saw him, they came to him and helped him carry. "Where were you? We were worried the green bastard and his men got you," Tommy said and Tubbo couldn't help but flinch at 'green bastard'. It was all different now.

"No, I just went out a little farther than I remembered so I estimated my way back wrong. Won't happen again." Tommy smiled and hit him playfully on the shoulder. "It better not."

* * *

Everybody in L'Manberg noticed how quiet Tubbo was the next day. He sat in complete silence, only speaking when spoken to. It was like he wasn't even there like he was far away in his thoughts.

Suddenly Fundy jumped to his feet. He was looking at the entrance of L'Manberg, where Sapnap was standing. It was the first time any of them, save for Tubbo, saw someone from the Dream SMP close up since the war.

Sapnap wasn't wearing his armor, he and the man that burned down the forest around their walls a week ago did not look like the same person. Wilbur stood up as well and all of them walked as a group over. Sapnap was alone, and he looked terrible. His eyes were bloodshot like he'd been crying, and he looked defeated.

"Sapnap. What do you want?" Sapnap stepped forward and stretched his arm out, handing a book to Wilbur. It was one of Dream's books, the blazon on the front proved it. 

"We will honor everything Dream proposed in this." Sapnap said and went quiet for a moment and then added: "I hope you do as well." Wilbur narrowed his eyes and turned around, walking back into L'Manberg without another word.

Everyone followed him, only Tubbo looked at Sapnap for a second longer. Sapnap noticed and took a step forward, he was close enough to touch Tubbo now. "I'm not sure how you and Dream are so close… But he cares about you. After you read this book maybe check in with us," Sapnap said and left.

"Tubbo?" Tubbo turned around to see Tommy waiting for him. Tubbo quickly caught up to them, ignoring Tommy's questions about what Sapnap told him. They got together in the caravan, and Wilbur began reading the book to them.

_"Dear Wilbur, dear L'Manbergians._

_I must congratulate you for gaining independence, I hope you can find peace in your own nation._

_But also, I need to apologize. I never wished for our dispute to escalate as it did. I was foolish and naive, and I should've known the path I was going down. I will never be able to go back and undo what did, I will never be able to ease your pain._

_But I can avoid the pain of others. I can't run from my past forever, which is why when you are reading this, I will have left the server. I'm returning to my roots. You don't know this about me, but I fought in the 'wars of divitae' for 7 years until I deserted. Some of the wars are still waging, including the one I ran away from. I don't know how many people died because I was too cowardly to speak up about what happened to me, but I will no longer hide. The royal families will try to make me disappear, but I have brought enough suffering by being a coward. I need to try. The server is paid for another 20 years, all of my savings are going into upholding it for as long as possible._

_Please, don't fight anymore. It's enough when one of us is fighting a war. I hope you can forgive me for what I did. I should've known better; I should've known I would snap and fall into old habits. I hope all of you can recover from the injuries I inflicted, both the mental and the physical ones._

_I know some of you haven't looked at me as a friend for a while, and I regret acting as I did._ _We will probably never see each other again, I doubt I will come out of this alive, but please know I will remember you as friends, not enemies. I hope you can one day say the same._

_I may not deserve anyone's forgiveness, but I will never stop regretting turning a safe place into a warzone. I hope one day you look back at me, not remembering me as a tyrannical enemy, but as a friend. I hope one day, we will see each other again, in this world or whatever may come after._

_Please, attempt to find peace on this server. Don't blame anyone else than me for this war, they didn't know any better. I hope when we meet again, I will meet you as a united front, not crumbled like everything is right now._

_Please, do not attempt to follow me or change my mind, you won't find me. I have to do this; I have to correct my mistakes and I have to redeem myself. I have to forgive myself._

_Even if I don't show it, I love you all._

_\- Dream"_

It was dead silent. Tubbo felt tears rolling over his face. Dream left? A week ago, hell a day ago, he would've cheered at this. But now he felt sick.

Fundy stared at the floor. Dream had offered him sanctuary. Being a hybrid, he was a victim of many attacks and kidnapping attempts of people wanting to have him as a pet or just to experiment on him, Dream offered him a safe haven. And now he was gone. Fundy let a quiet whine escape his throat, the only sound filling the room.

Wilbur felt empty. He was old enough; he understood what was written between the lines in this. Dream was forced to fight in a war for 7 years and he was only 21, which meant he was definitely a child when he first fought. And now he felt guilty enough to fight against entire kingdoms without even thinking he had a chance to win. Wilbur had to steady himself against a wall.

Tommy wasn't really sure what to do. He wanted to make jokes and ease the tension. He didn't want to see Tubbo cry, but… he had nothing to say. He felt empty. He lost a friend he forgot he even had, and that realization hurt so much more than any physical wound Dream had even inflicted on him.

Nobody talked. Nobody knew what to say. There was nothing to say.

Tubbo was the first person to leave. He stormed out to where Sapnap and George were and found out that Dream left his diary of his time in the war to them. They asked if he wanted to read it. No matter how guilty he felt, he said no. He wasn't sure how many more tragic stories he could bare. He spent the rest of the day hugging his previous enemies and crying, mourning the loss of his friend.

Fundy followed Tubbo shortly after he left. He ran into the woods where he once dug a panic burrow. He didn't come out for the rest of the day, spending his time whining and mourning the loss of the person that saved him.

Wilbur walked out at a steady pace. His hands were shaking, and he felt sick. He went up the walls of L'Manberg, leaning against the railings. He remembered when he saw Dream's face. Back then the scar told him everything he needed to know about Dream. A warrior with a secret, tragic past. Wilbur didn't shed a tear, instead hating himself for not showing more restrainment when he knew Dream had been through similar things before. Wilbur watched the Dream SMP, thinking back to when there was peace and quiet and mourned the loss of a trusted confidant.

Tommy was the last person remaining in the caravan. He couldn't find the energy to get up. He didn't cry, didn't run. He just picked up the book that Wilbur read from and read the pages again and again. He couldn't make sense of it. When did Dream, a brotherly figure, become a villain in his mind? When did he cross the line where he didn't see Dream as a friend disagreeing and instead an enemy? Tommy thought back to all of their arguments and couldn't deny that Dream always stayed playful until he was directly insulted. Tommy should've known. He continued reading the pages until he could reprise it word for word and mourned the loss of his brother.

* * *

Despite all of their pain, the world kept turning and time passed. L'Manberg and Dream SMP remained separate nations by formalities, but that was it. They often found each other sleeping in houses in the other nation. None of them liked to be alone anymore.

They let new people in, Philza, Techno, Skeppy, Bad, Niki and Thunder joined them. They made up with Eret, 'gay castle' became Wilbur's favorite new place; he often sat under the colored windows, watching the colors play against the wall. They spread the word. Dream was gone, returned to his past to better the world. Nobody knew what exactly happened, but they knew Dream was not coming back. They reunited, spending almost every evening together. They didn't fight. Found peace. Found a safe haven.

And when 3 years later a messenger came to their server with a bloody mask, they cried together, remembering their fallen friend and honoring his memory by speaking up about the injustices in his story. The published his diary to the public and two months later the upper servers were dismantled after public outrage at the army of children, and hundreds of children were freed from the war.

In the end, Dream didn't fail. All it took was for Dream himself to fall so his vision could come to life: his family living in harmony and the people he left behind being finally freed. In the end, he succeeded, he just never got to see it for himself. In the end, his dream came true.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this... is not how i planned this chapter to go when I started writing. holy shit, the angst.
> 
> next up will probably be a prompt from one of you guys, I kinda write 3 stories at the same time so I can't say for sure what will be up next. 
> 
> Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed it. I actually really like this chapter, but it may be a bit dramatic for some people idk


	3. we can still make peace (just aim for the sky)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> prompt by: me  
> Plot: The duel between Dream and Tommy started, but someone had a change of heart  
> TW: blood, injuries  
> Additional info: ambiguous ending, slightly unreliable/biased narrator

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wrote this instead of paying attention in my german class. it's not amazing but it's at least something, I'm sorry for the slow updates y'all

Tommy wasn't sure why he agreed to this duel. He was stupid. Everyone knew how this would end. Dream was older, better trained, more experienced and in a better physical condition.

The night of rest they gave each other didn’t really help; Tommy was still injured from the day before. His ears still hurt, and he still felt pressure on his head from the explosion. He still had second degree burns on his arms from the burning arrows hitting his house right next to him. He still had a stab wound in his side from when Eret betrayed them and several bruises from when they led him out after the attack.

Dream on the other hand had, as far as Tommy knew, not one injury. Maybe an accidental bruise or burn, but Tommy knew he was at a major disadvantage.

None of his friends were happy with his decision, but they couldn't stop him. He'd go through with it, it was their only hope, their only chance.

He led his men to the path, only Fundy, Wilbur and Tubbo were left after Eret betrayed them. They were just as banged up as he was, only they weren't threatened with immediate death.

Dream and his men were already there, waiting for them. Dream stood alone on the path, he was looking at the L'Manbergians, his bow in his hand. His men were on the hill next to the path. The stars reflected in their shining armor and as if he was mocking them, Eret was wearing his frown instead of a helmet.

"Dream." Tommy stopped on the path while Wilbur, Tubbo and Fundy climbed up the hill. It was way too quiet, as if the world was holding its breath to see who would prevail from this duel.

"Tommy." Dream hesitated, before saying in a low voice: "You don't have to do this Tommy. Is L'Manberg really worth _dying_ for? Nobody will blame you if you chose not to do this."

Tommy shook his head and snapped back: "Is Dream SMP worth dying for?" Dream sighed. "Tommy, you are a great kid. Incredibly talented, you're an amazing fighter. You have so much potential to follow into Techno's footsteps. But we both know who will win this."

Wilbur shouted from his place on the hill: "Wow, arrogant much?" Even if he tried to sound amused, no one missed the fear in his voice.

With determination in his eyes Tommy looked at Dream. "We're doing this." Dream sighed and put a hand on Tommy's shoulder. "I'm truly sorry, Tommy. I don't want to do this."

He stepped back to where George and Punz were waiting. George helped him take his armor of, while Punz held the bow and Wilbur approached Tommy one last time. "Whatever happens, I'm proud of you." Tommy saw tears in his eyes and took a deep breath. He didn't answer, he just nodded with a tense smile.

Wilbur handed him his bow. It was a normal bow. Sure, good quality, but it was just an ordinary bow. With a look over he saw Dream's bow. It was enhanced and could probably kill him with one shot even if he was in a good medical condition.

Dream was finally out of his armor and hugged George once; George was saying something Tommy couldn't hear in a low tone. He could see Dream shake his head and whisper something back, then Punz's eyes, who had listened in, widened.

Tommy would never admit it, but he was scared, in fact, he was terrified. He was a good shot, but he was a lot better with his sword. And Dream was better with both. Whatever Dream just told his allies was enough for them to stare at him with an emotion he didn't recognize.

Dream hugged George and Punz tightly, Sapnap and Eret were still up on the hill, looking down. Eret did his best to avoid looking at the L'Manbergians while Sapnap looked like he'd rather be anywhere than where he was right now.

Tommy looked back at Fundy and Tubbo. Tubbo had tears rolling down his face and Fundy was holding him in a tight embrace. Tommy wasn't sure if it was to hold him back from interfering or simply to support the boy, or both, but he didn't want to know.

Wilbur had moved into the middle between the two fronts and George and Punz climbed back up the hill. They looked more serious than before. Dream turned to him. Without his armor, in just a green hoodie and black jeans he looked a lot less intimidating, but his mask was still terrifying to Tommy.

"Stand back to back. We count to ten, after ten you turn around and shoot," Wilbur announced and Tommy and Dream went into their positions, back to back. Tommy would be walking into the direction of Dream's men and Dream would be walking into the direction of Tommy's men. it was to avoid interventions.

Dream was only barely taller than Tommy, but Tommy was a lot skinnier than Dream. Living away from civilization in the woods while building a new nation didn't come with a lot of comfort or food. While Dream was muscular and fit, Tommy was skinny and scrawny. Tommy knew the only way he could win this was luck.

"One." Both took a step. It made Tommy crazy that he couldn't see Dream's face.

"Two." Both took another step. Tommy wished he at least saw Dream's face once, to see if he felt remorse for anything he had done.

"Three." They took another step. His hands were trembling, but he forced himself to breathe calmly.

"Four." They took another step, although now Tommy couldn't hear Dream anymore.

"Five." Tommy nervously glanced to the side, George and Sapnap held hands, they looked scared. Punz was kneeling on the floor as if he was in pain and Eret had taken his crown off, holding it in his hands instead.

"Six." Tommy put the arrow into the bow, fiddling with the bowstring nervously.

"Seven." There was no way Dream wouldn't shoot him. Dream wasn't a good person; he wouldn't hesitate to kill, and Tommy didn't doubt that. He drew back the bow.

"Eight." Dream destroyed everything. He made children into warriors and he took one of his only friends, Eret. He promised Eret power for betraying his friends.

"Nine." Tommy's hands began to shake. This was all Dream's fault. Tommy would make him pay, he wouldn't die today, and if he did, he would be avenged by his friends.

"Ten paces, fire!" Tommy swung around, but his hands were too shaky now and he missed by far, the arrow hitting the hill behind Dream that the L'Manbergians were standing on.

Tommy thought it was all over now, he missed his shot, he'd die. Nonetheless, he grabbed his next arrow from his quill and was halfway through drawing it back, when his eyes finally fell on Dream.

Dream was aiming at the sky, slightly tilted so the arrow would land in the pond bellow them and not in the audience. Tommy was frozen in place. Was this a trick?

Dream let go, his arrow flew into the sky and a few seconds later hit the water next to them. Tommy watched the arrow sink next to him and then looked back at Dream.

Dream let his bow drop to the floor and then announced loudly: "I can't deny that you fought well. You had a disadvantage from the start. You were outnumbered, outsourced and outmanned. And you still managed to put up a fight." He made a pause and ended: "I'm willing to grant you independence and negotiate the borders, right now."

Tommy saw Wilbur and Fundy cheer, Tubbo was smiling brightly. He looked at them for a long moment.

They forgave him the minute he decided to give them what he wanted. Tommy didn't agree with that. Tommy wanted revenge for everything that happened to him and his people.

He was injured, he was in pain and Dream should get away unscathed? No.

Tommy watched Dream, who was looking up at his own friends and Tommy finished drawing back the bow. He aimed and whispered in a low tone: "I will not throw away my shot." He let the arrow fly.


	4. dying is easy (please do this the hard way)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> prompt by: Princess_Baek_x  
> Plot: Dream is drugged and kidnapped shortly before an event to prevent him from participating. His family does not approve.  
> TW: non-consensual drugging; kidnapping; blood; human trafficking; cursing, slight description of drowning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter starts out kinda slow but maybe still give it a read, it's angst -> violence -> sick fic -> fluff/angst, I don't really like the starts but I've been writing this chapter for a month no and I'm growing tired of it tbh
> 
> (for this imma just pretend like scott hosts more than just mcc and hosts this event aswell)

Despite the fact that a day ago a huge event was held here, the server was fairly empty. Two or three people were still on the parkour, perfecting their jumps or working on sections they struggled on. A few viewers sat in the stands and were having lose conversations, while several mods and admins were beginning to kick them out.

But two people just arrived, stepping through the portal. One wore white clout glasses and the other had a white bandana around his head. Both seemed nervous and were looking around, as if they were searching for someone. 

"Sapnap! George!" The two turned around to see the host, Scott, walk toward them with a smile on his lips. "Hello Scott, how are you?" Sapnap asked politely, even though it was obvious he wanted to drop the pleasantries as soon as possible. "I'm fine, how are you?"

"Good. Uuh, we just wanted to know if you happen to know where Dream went after the event?" Sapnap looked nervous and George had a bad feeling about this whole situation. Something wasn't right here. The event ended more than 15 hours ago but Dream never returned to his server.

Scott scoffed and said with a playful undertone: "I have no idea since he didn't even show up! I haven't seen him since the evening before the competition to be exact." Sapnap froze. "What?" Scott nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, put on quite the show. Didn't think he was one to drink this excessively!"

"Wait, drink? This can't be right," George said and Scott shrugged. "Well, if you ask me, he was really drunk. I mean, his friends had to practically carry him away. I have no idea how he got so drunk in such a short amount of time."

George and Sapnap exchanged looks. Dream didn't drink. He tried it once and hated it. He hated the way he lost control over his movement, the way he couldn't think clearly, and he hated how vulnerable he felt when he was drunk. He'd never drink, especially without his friends and just hours before a big event.

"What friends?" Sapnap asked, "he came alone." Scott shrugged, now looking a bit unsure. "They were tall, taller than Dream. Uuuh they were dressed completely black. I've never seen them before, I just assumed they were his friends." He looked at the two friends expectantly. "Are they... not?"

After a short moment of silence, George asked: "Do you know if anyone recognized them?" Scott looked around for a second and then nodded toward an admin on the stands: "She sat pretty close to them. She said they were talking friendly, so we assumed everything was okay." Without another word Sapnap walked off toward her, George gave Scott a thankful nod and then quickly followed Sapnap.

"Don't make assumptions too quickly. He is... He is fine. It's Dream, the lucky bastard always comes out of these things unharmed," George said, but he wasn't sure who he was actually trying to convince, Sapnap or himself. The admin already saw them coming and turned to them with a wary expression on her face. 

"Can I help you guys?" Sapnap nodded. "Yeah, hi, uh, Scott said you were sitting close to Dream yesterday?" She nodded. "Oh, yeah. He was talking to two guys about Parkouring but got really drunk really fast. They offered to bring him to his server and got him out."

"Did you hear him order anything?" George asked and she shook her head. "I wasn't listening to them the entire time. Just when they started talking about Parkour, I wanted to get some free tips from Dream."

George nodded and asked in an urgent tone: "Was there anything extraordinary about them? Anything that stood out?" She sighed as she tried to remember and after a few second said: "Except for their height... well, they had really weird belt buckle. It was shaped like a dragon, but like, a shitty dragon. Completely silver." They nodded. The description wasn't familiar to any of them, but that didn't necessarily mean anything.

Without another word they turned around and went back to the portal. Neither noticed the worried looks they received from Scott and the admin. Both were too worried. Dream never would've gotten this drunk, at all. Not even with his friends, the last time he got drunk it nearly triggered a panic attack.

As soon as they were back in their own server George said in a stern tone: "Call everyone, we'll make a plan once we're all together." Sapnap nodded, his jaw was clenched and got his communicator out. George's communicator vibrated a few times until Sapnap announced: "We're meeting at Eret's castle." George nodded and quietly headed towards the castle.

* * *

The entirety of L'Manberg were on their way to the main world to play a few rounds of Bedwars together when they spotted George and Sapnap. Both looked pissed, but, of course, that didn't stop Tommy from pissing them off. Well, he tried to at least.

Before Tommy could get a word out, Sapnap slammed into his shoulder and pushed him aside, causing him to stumble off the wood path. Sapnap didn't turn around or say a word and instead tried to push through the rest of them, when a hand grabbed him by the arm. Sapnap froze and stopped abruptly, causing George, who was right behind him, to almost run into him.

Sapnap looked back to see Techno holding him in a tight grip. He bit back a snarl and growled: "I don't have fucking time for this. Let. me. go." Tommy jumped back onto the path, but as soon as he opened his mouth Techno held out a hand to stop him from talking.

George said in an urgent tone: "Techno, we really don't need this right now. We have bigger problems." The tall man looked at them. He noticed George's hands shaking and genuinely worried expression. "Like what?"

Sapnap and George exchanged a quick glance and George nodded in a defeating way to his friend. Sapnap hesitated a second longer and then revealed: "Dream was kidnapped over 24 hours ago. He was drugged and just taken away. We have no idea where he is, best case scenario he is just being held somewhere. Worst case scenario..." his voice broke, "he is dead. So please. Get out of our way."

Techno's eyes were wide and there was something dangerous in them that gave George chills. "He was kidnapped?" They nodded. Techno looked around. The L'Manbergians had gone from amused and belligerent to horrified and worried.

"We'll help." Sapnap's eyes widened. He looked at every member individually. He knew they needed the help. He knew he trusted them enough in a situation like this.

"Alright. If one of yours tries to start a fight with ours we're starting another war. This is not the time." Techno nodded and let go off Sapnap's arm. "We're meeting at Eret's castle, come on."

Sapnap and George immediately continued. Techno stayed in place for a few seconds longer and then said in a serious voice to his friends: "No funny business, despite everything Dream is still our friend. We can't abandon him now." Everyone nodded and they quickly followed after the Dream SMP warriors.

Punz, Eret, Ponk, and Purpled were waiting in the castle when Sapnap and George came in. Punz walked towards them, he seemed nervous. "What happened? You said it was urgent." They nodded. "We're still waiting for the others." Purpled frowned. "Others?" In that moment the L'Manbergians walked in.

Everyone straightened up a bit, Punz laid his hand on his sword but didn't draw it, waiting for Sapnap and George to lead the way. Sapnap looked at everyone and then explained what happened: "The evening before the event Dream was drugged and kidnapped from a party. We don't know where he is, we only have vague descriptions of his kidnappers."

George took over: "For all we know anything could've happened by now. For all we know he may have already freed himself, or he might be dead. We also can't forget the possibility…" He struggled with his words for a bit before ending his sentence in a tense tone: "We can't forget the possibility that he was sold into a fighting ring."

Everyone got a grimmer expression at this, only the three teens seemed confused. "What fighting rings?" Tubbo asked and Wilbur looked down at him. "It isn't uncommon for good fighters to disappear of the face of the earth and resurface years later dead. They are sold as slaves into an underground business where they have to fight for their life, like gladiators. They normally stay away from popular people like Dream, but I don't doubt they'd make an exception if given the opportunity. He'd bring in good money."

Tubbo paled and looked down. "Techno," George said and Techno looked back from Tubbo to the older man. "I hate to ask this of you… But maybe you can use your connections to find out who kidnapped him." Techno hesitated before nodding curtly. "I still have contacts to the underworld, tell me everything you know."

Sapnap and Techno went outside to contact whoever they had to, while everyone else got their armor and Punz got healing potions. They didn't know what state Dream would be in when they found him.

"Tommy, Tubbo, Purpled," George called out when they went to leave the castle to prepare. They stopped and looked at him. "I don't want you to come with us." Tommy went to protest, but George shut him down quickly: "These people would kill to get teens as talented as you three are. I won't risk losing you. No discussion. Instead, prepare something so we can treat Dream if he is injured. Brew potions. Don't follow us, we can't risk it."

Tommy tried to argue again, but Tubbo shook his head at him and Tommy finally nodded. He seemed to know that this was simply not the time to act all big and tough, their friend's life was in danger.

Suddenly Sapnap stormed in. "We know the server and rough coordinates. Someone from their crew snitched to Techno." George nodded determinedly. They would rescue their friend, whatever it took.

* * *

It was a calm day in the main world. Everyone was going about their business, meeting with friends, going to practice servers or just hanging around.

That peace was disturbed when 9 people in full enchanted netherite entered it. That in itself wasn't too uncommon, but as soon as people realized who they were, they made way, trying not to get noticed. They didn't know what had happened, but they did know none of these people were fighters you should cross in a serious fight.

The 9 fighters disappeared in the direction of the underground servers, and everyone collectively decided they didn't see anything should authorities question them and moved on with their day.

* * *

"Ready?" Sapnap looked at everyone. They stood before the portal taking them to where Dream was being held. Everyone looked equally pissed and worried, Sapnap almost had pity for the bastards. Almost. Not really.

He stepped through the portal, his sword in his hand, ready to face whatever would await him, Techno was perfectly in synch with him.

Before Sapnap was even able to assess the situation, an arrow hit the portal right next to his head. Sapnap held his shield up and stepped in front of Techno, who didn't have a shield since he thought it impacted his speed and agility.

An arrow hit Sapnap's shield just as Techno let go of his arrow and a pained shout reached their ears. He put his shield down and looked around. A wall was around the portal, but it would be easy to overcome.

Techno walked over to where the shooter was and Sapnap watched emotionless as the tall man stabbed him right through the heart.

Slowly the others came through until they were all together again. "Weird that they'd only have one guard here," George said and Wilbur muttered: "If there was a second one, they probably warned them by now. We need to hurry. Techno?"

Techno nodded and led them; he had the coordinates after all. With their netherite pickaxes they soon had a big enough hole to squeeze everyone through the wall and Techno took the lead through the forest.

They walked in silence, everyone was wrapped up in their own mind, worried for their friend. Sapnap couldn't bear the thought that his best friend, his brother, might die. He felt guilty. He should've just gone to the competition with him. They should've known something like this was a danger, and now Dream might be dead.

He looked over at Techno. While Techno was mostly a gentle giant unless challenged, he now looked straight up scary. His blade was already bloody, and his stoic expression looked like it could kill. Sapnap would not want to go up against him like this, but he was glad he was at his side.

Techno's calm outside did not reflect his real emotions correctly. He was worried, of course, but most of all he was pissed. He was angry and he wanted to see blood. He hadn't known Dream personally for a long time, but they'd been exchanging tips and talking through their communicators for a long time now. Dream was like a brother, whether big or small completely depended on the day. They may be on opposing sides in this war, but Techno cared greatly for all of his friends, and Dream definitely was a friend. Nobody hurt Techno's family and got away with it.

He looked at the coordinates. They were about to reach them; through the trees he could make out a house. The group stopped and Techno looked back. "We stick together, attack anyone that isn't one of us, if we have to, we kill them. Look out for Dream, open any doors you can find, he could be anywhere, but according to our intel he is underground." They nodded and Techno took a deep breath. Next to him he heard Sapnap whisper: "We're coming. Please... just stay alive for a little longer."

* * *

In a dark room underground was a tall blonde sitting on a chair. He was bound to the chair at his ankles and wrists. He was slumped over as if he was dead. With him were 7 other men scattered around the room.

The blonde was awake, his eyes open but unfocused, he was breathing, but every breath hurt. One of the men approached him, a vial with a purple liqud in his hand. He grabbed the sitting man by his hair and forced him to look up. "Open your mouth, Dream."

Dream looked at him but didn't obey. His face was wet from tears, his eyes were bloodshot, and his skin was paler than it had ever been. He looked like death himself. Impatiently the man forced Dream's mouth open and emptied the vial into his mouth, then forcing his mouth closed again so he couldn't spit it out.

Dream began to shake and gag. He fought weakly against the hand on his mouth, but after a few seconds completely slumped over. The man removed his hand. "He is ready for transport." One of the other men, he was the smallest one with expensive-looking clothes, slowly approached Dream.

"Are you sure he will be fine? I don't want to pay the full price if this poison is going to affect his ability to fight." The man nodded. "It'll wear off eventually, I promise. I would never waste such potential." The small man smiled greedily while looking at the unconscious captive. "Pay them."

The door flew open and before the small man could even turn around an arrow pierced his heart. The other men stared in fear as Technoblade reloaded his bow and Sapnap aimed his crossbow at them.

"Hands where we can see them," Techno growled in a low tone, George and Wilbur rushed past them to Dream. Sapnap growled at the fact that his mask was gone when George lifted his head up. After a few seconds, George announced: "He is alive, but…" he dragged his thumb across Dream's lips and looked at the purple substance on his finger. "He was poisoned."

In a calm voice, Sapnap ordered: "Get him out. We will handle this." Wilbur and George cut Dream lose and carried him outside, the others remained in the room.

When George and Wilbur were halfway across the hallway, they heard screams coming out of the room behind them. "I hope they suffer…" Wilbur murmured and George nodded. He hoped they didn't kill them too fast.

They carried Dream over bloody bodies outside when their friends finally caught up to them. All of them had blood on their clothes, Sapnap had a white mask in his hand, his bloody hand leaving a red handprint on it. George nodded at his best friend and received a nod back. They didn't speak a word, but they all knew how many lives they took. None of them felt remorse.

* * *

Tommy, Tubbo, and Purpled had prepared the community house as well as they could for Dream when they returned. They didn't bat an eye at the bloody clothes, just moved aside, and looked down at Dream.

He wasn't wearing his mask; this was the first time they ever saw his face. He was pale, but his lips were tainted dark. It was scary to see. Tommy thought he didn't like Dream, but when he looked at the older man now, he felt fear. "What happened?"

Techno pushed them gently back so George and Wilbur could work and explained in a soft voice: "He was being held in an underground base. The bastards were selling him to a fighting ring right when we arrived. if we were only a few minutes later…" His voice trailed off, but the three of them knew what he wanted to say. They never would've seen him again.

George stood up again and announced: "Dream will be fine. This poison they used is going to fuck him up really bad for a day or two, but he will survive." 

"How will it fuck him up?" Eret asked and George shrugged. "It depends on the person. Some hallucinate, some develop a fever, some just sleep. We can't say right now. We should take turns watching him," he glanced at Sapnap and Techno who were still covered in blood, "and some of you should change." 

Techno looked at Dream with wary eyes. Dream was on a bed in the middle of the community house. Everyone was scattered around the house, inside and outside. Some were sitting outside, trying to distract themselves, but Techno, George, Sapnap and Wilbur didn't leave the older man's side.

Something was about to happen. Dream was awake, Techno wasn't sure how he knew, but he knew. Maybe it was the fact that his breathing faltered for just a second. Maybe the fact that his knuckled were turning white as he gripped his sheet. Maybe the tense expression, but Techno knew. He just wasn't sure what to do now. Medically they couldn't help him, they'd just have to wait until the poison was out of his system.

"Techno." The tall man turned around to George who was sitting on a chest. "Calm down. He's survived worse, it'll be okay." Techno nodded slowly, but suddenly he heard movement behind him and turned around. By the time he realized what had happened Dream had bolted out of the door, taking off running. 

"Shit." They sprinted after him, but Dream was still sick and by the time Techno had reached the outside he was just in time to see Dream hit the lake. In a swift movement he loosened his cape so that it dropped to the floor and let the crown follow immediately. The cape was heavy enough on land, in the water and with an additional human he wouldn't be able to come back up.

The tall man dived after Dream into the lake and opened his eyes underwater. Dream was struggling as if he was fighting an invisible enemy, but still sinking to the ground. Techno quickly went after him, but by the time he reached Dream he had already sunken to the bottom of the lake. He put his arm around Dream's waist and pushed himself off the ground.

His throat burned and his lungs stung. Luckily the lake wasn't too deep and soon he managed to grip the bridge above him. As soon as he breached the surface Dream was ripped out of his hands by George and Sapnap. Techno took a second to breathe, a hand was held into his face and when he looked up Wilbur was holding his hand out. He let himself be dragged out and looked at Dream.

He was fighting against George and Sapnap, no matter what they said. His eyes were wild and unfocused, Techno had never seen him like this. While he took a second to catch his breath again Wilbur tried to help George and Sapnap, who were clearly struggling. Seemingly seeing a new person made Dream snap and suddenly George fell back, holding his jaw where Dream hit him and Sapnap was crouching over his ribs.

Wilbur quickly grabbed Dream’s wrists again and pushed them down, Sapnap sat on his chest and Eret, who came running, took control of his legs. Dream was like a cornered animal, hitting, kicking and scratching as if his life depended on it. Dream probably thought it did.

Eventually, it took Sapnap, George, Eret, Techno and Wilbur to get Dream back into the house.

"George, is there anything we can do?" Sapnap asked and George shook his head, still holding his jaw. "He either doesn't recognize us, or he does and thinks we're a threat. All we can do is make sure he doesn't hurt himself or others." He looked over, everyone was back in the room, watching them struggle to keep Dream down. "Someone get us ropes! Techno, go change."

Techno opened his mouth to protest, but Wilbur agreed: "We don't need you to get sick as well. We got it." Techno nodded hesitantly and left the house, heading to L'Manberg.

Only when Dream was bound to the bed on his ankles and wrists, they could get off him, but Dream was only fighting harder now with low grunts, still lost in his illusions.

"Dream! Dream, come one, it's us!" Sapnap shouted, leaning over him, but George gently pulled him away. "His brain is telling him we are a danger. There is nothing we can do; we just have to wait."

Wilbur put his hand on tommy's shoulder. "Come on Tommy. Let's go back to L'Manberg." It was hard for the adults to see their friend like this, they didn't need the children to see it as well. "But Wilbur we should be here for him," Tommy muttered, but still flinched hard when Dream suddenly began to scream.

Fundy instantly moved and gently pushed Tubbo towards the exit. "Let's give Dream his space. He's probably more stressed if a lot of people are here." Wilbur gave him a thankful nod and lead Tommy and Tubbo outside, Purpled followed them silently.

Dream stopped struggling after George gave him a calming potion and he fell asleep. Everyone was exhausted and three hours after that the only person awake was Sapnap. While George was sleeping in the same room, Eret and Fundy retreated to Eret's castle and Techno disappeared towards the roof. The torches had gone out leaving the room in a cold faint light from the moon.

Sapnap sat next to Dream, watching him intently. He knew Dream would pull through but seeing him like this was still scary. This wasn't the first time he'd ever seen Dream without his mask, but this time Dream looked terrible. He was pale and his skin was cold to the touch, but he was still sweating.

Sapnap gently rested his head on Dream's stomach, his tears being soaked up by his shirt. Sapnap wasn't sure for how long he laid there, but after some time he felt the tiniest flex of a muscle under his head and quickly looked up.

Dream's green eyes seemed to cut through the darkness. They were no longer wild or unfocussed, instead they were back to the calculating look Dream always had in his face.

"Dream." Dream gave him the tiniest smirk and opened his mouth to answer but was instead sent into a coughing fit. Sapnap bolted to the next chest and got a bottle of water.

He carefully fed Dream the entire bottle and looked at him. Dream tried to sit up but was stopped by the ropes and with a wince quickly stopped. Sapnap looked up and noticed around his wrists his skin was irritated and he had a few wounds from his attempts to break away from his restraints.

"Why?" Dream just asked and looked at Sapnap with genuine confusion in his eyes. "How much do you remember?" Sapnap asked instead and Dream looked out of the window.

"I'm not sure. I remember pain. My throat was burning, my blood was boiling. I remember voices." He frowned. "Techno was here?" Sapnap nodded. "He still is somewhere in the house; he probably knows you're awake."

"Sapnap, what happened?" Sapnap looked down, new tears covering his visions. "You were drugged and kidnapped. We needed all the help we could get, so L'Manberg joined us to rescue you. We got there just in time. They tried to sell you to a fighting ring. Techno and I slaughtered the fuckers." Dream had wide eyes and asked in a soft voice: "What?"

Sapnap nodded, his sob breaking the following silence. "You were delusional and hallucinating. You almost drowned when you tried to escape from us. We had to tie you to the bed to keep you and us safe."

Dream's face had always been expressive, it's why he wore the mask, but now the pain in his face was heartbreaking. "You had to protect yourselves from me? Did I hurt any of you?" Sapnap looked away. He got off with a few scratches, but George had a big bruise where Dream hit him, and his jaw was swollen. Techno would probably get a slight cold and Wilbur had dark bruises formed like hands on his arms when Dream tried to get Wilbur to the ground.

"Everyone will live, don't worry." That didn't help. "Are you okay?" Sapnap nodded but the worry didn't leave Dream's eyes, so Sapnap revealed: "You scratched me a lot and I have a pretty big bruise on my ribs, but I'm fine. Believe me, seeing you like that… That was worse. I thought you wouldn't make it."

Dream looked away; his eyes fell on George sleeping in the corner. Luckily the dark hid his bruised jaw, Sapnap wasn't sure how Dream would handle seeing that.

"Can you please let me go?" Sapnap hesitated. Dream seemed completely normal and he wasn't hallucinating, but he had no idea if that would change again. But then he nodded and took his sword, carefully cutting though the restraints.

Dream sat up and rubbed his wrist with a wince, they were bruised and a bit bloody. Sapnap decided to leave the restraints on his ankles. They wouldn't stop him, but at least slow him down if he decided to run.

Dream looked up at Sapnap, who stood next to him and looked kind of lost. Dream smiled a bit and made some space, spreading his arms. Sapnap gladly accepted the invitation and crashed into the bed next to Dream, hugging him tightly. "I thought I'd lose you," he whispered after a minute or two and instantly felt Dream tighten his grip. "I'd never leave you behind," Dream promised in return and added in a lighthearted tone: "I'd take you out with me."

Sapnap chuckled and felt Dream readjust his position so they were both comfortable. He smiled and buried his face in Dream's shirt again. Dream was alive and that was all that mattered to Sapnap at the moment. Soon both fell into a peaceful sleep again.

* * *

The next day when Dream opened his eyes the sun was already high in the sky. He was still cuddled up with Sapnap, but the main thing he noticed was that someone else was in the room. George was sitting with his back to Dream, in front of him was Eret. They were talking in a low voice.

Dream carefully sat up and a second later was almost thrown to the floor by George running to hug him. They were only saved by falling onto Sapnap, who let out a yelp and fell out instead of them, hitting the ground and looking around in confusion.

After a long hug George finally pulled away and immediately saw Dream's eyes darken. "What is that?" His hand gently brushed over George's jaw, but he still flinched at the touch. When no one answered him, realization washed over his face. "I- I did that?" George nodded but quickly said: "It wasn't your fault. You were halluzinating, it's okay."

He looked down and shook his head but didn't argue. Eret approached with a glass of water in his hand and a light smile. "I'm glad you're okay. We were worried."

Dream accepted the glass thankfully, and went to drink but suddenly froze, just staring at it. Sapnap, who was standing by now again, and George exchanged confused glances. "Dream are you… are you okay?"

Dream looked at Eret. "What is this? It isn’t just water, right?" Eret shook his head. "No, it's water and mixed with a healing potion to help your injuries. Why?"

George realized the problem when he saw the panic in Dream's eyes and carefully took the glass out of his hand. "Do you want to watch me make it?" Realization hit Eret and Sapnap as Dream nodded with an embarrassed expression.

George smiled sadly and went to the chest to get another healing potion. Dream was watching him like a hawk, his eyes carefully observing every movement he made until he had it in his hand. Even then he seemed uncomfortable but managed to slowly drink it all.

After he was finished, he looked around and asked in a quiet tone: "My mask?" Sapnap took the mask from where he put it after washing the blood off and handed it to his friend. The moment the mask was back on Dream's face he seemed to relax a bit and when looked up at Eret. "I'm sorry, I don't know what's wrong. I…" He froze and slowly shook his head. "I don't know. I'm struggling."

Sapnap put his hand on Dream's shoulder and reassured him: "And that's okay. We will help you every step of the way. Not only us, everyone. Everyone was worried about you, even people you weren't on good terms with. We love you."

Dream smiled. Everything would be alright. He was save now and he had his family to help him. He'd be okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i kinda hated this while writing (it's why this took so long) but now I kinda like it idk


	5. regret will eat you apart (but forgiveness will built you up)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> prompt by: me/basically whumptober day 7: enemies to caretakers  
> Plot: Eret sees Tommy outside of the castle at night. Even if they betrayed him, they can't help but feel sorry for the freezing soul and goes to help.  
> TW: freezing, sickness, betrayal, mentions of body image and scars  
> Additional info: Eret uses they/them in this, about a week or two after the initial war

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly thought about doing whumptober late but there are a lot of prompts that I'm honestly just not comfortable with, so I'm just gonna use a few prompts from whumptober 2020 in this book
> 
> edit: aaaah I'm sorry I uploaded the wrong file this is embarrassing lmfao, this should be correct now

When Tommy stumbled into Eret's walls they were inclined to ignore the boy. It was late, they were tired, and Tommy obviously didn't even want to be there, besides, the weather was terrible. Tommy wasn't even in the castle, just cowering under the gate of their castle.

And that was where Eret paused. From what they had seen Tommy had come from the left side, meaning away from L'Manberg. As far as Eret could see with their enhanced night vision Tommy was completely soaked in the rain and was shivering.

Eret sighed and got up. They didn't necessarily want to talk to the boy who was still oh so bitter about the betrayal, but their moral code didn't allow them to leave a child out in this weather.

Leaving the castle, they strode through the rain, once again surprised by their own ability not to fall flat on their nose in the rain on the slippery wood planks.

Tommy didn't see them coming, too busy hugging his knees and shivering. Eret felt pity for the boy, what was he even doing out this far from L'Manberg?

"Tommy?" Tommy had his sword out in a heartbeat, pointing it at the king. "Eret." He didn't lower his sword, but it seemed like even this small movement was making him trembled. The worry in Eret only grew.

"Tommy. Are you alright?" Eret asked, getting straight to the point. Tommy nodded quickly, a bit too quickly, causing him to lose his balance and having to take a step back. He bumped into the wall and steadied himself against it. "Obviously."

Eret scoffed. "Yeah, I can see how fine you feel." Tommy's eyes narrowed. I don't see how it's any of your business, traitor!" Eret sighed and watched Tommy for a few more seconds. Tommy put his sword away, submitting to the fact that he was in no shape to fight and the king before him didn't seem aggressive.

In a fluid motion, Eret took their cape off and stepped closer to Tommy, who immediately scrambled back, stumbling over his own feet and falling to the ground.

Eret was frozen in place for a second before slowly kneeling down. The storm was getting worse and without their thick cape they realized cold it really was. "Come on Tommy, put my cape on." Tommy was staring at the piece of fabric for a long second before hesitantly taking it and wrapping it around his shoulders. The body warmth of the king still had the cape slightly warmed up inside and Tommy subconsciously buried himself deeper in it.

Eret smiled at the sight and suggested: "Why don't you come into the castle? You're going to freeze to death before you make it to L'Manberg. Tommy frowned. "No way. I'm going back to-" he interrupted himself with a coughing fit, only worsening Eret's worry for their young friend.

Once Tommy calmed down, he looked at Eret to see a pleading face. "Please. I know you don't trust me, understandably, but do you really want to walk home through this weather?" Tommy followed his elder's gaze.

The wood path was soaked and slippery, on the earth beside it were puddles the size of small ponds forming and he couldn't even see the community house that would only be a few meters from here due to the heavy rain. The wind was biting, his completely soaked clothes were heavy, and the cold was almost burning him.

Did he really want to walk through this weather, especially at night with all of the mobs out? He sighed. He was stubborn, but not stupid. He knew his condition was bad, he knew he was shivering, and he knew he was already sick, walking to L'Manberg would only worsen this. "Alright. I guess."

Eret smiled and stood back up, stretching a hand out. Tommy took their hand and flinched at the warmth of it. Eret helped Tommy stand up, the cape was surprisingly heavy to Tommy who was already weakened by exhaustion and the weather.

Eret was just wearing a thin button-up and black trousers, they'd be soaked in seconds. Even now, where the two weren't even in the rain Eret had goosebumps and was shivering just a tiny bit. Nonetheless, they turned to drag Tommy out of the security of the gate and the last 20 meters to the actual castle.

Tommy quickly stopped them and offered the huge cape back. "I'm soaked already, no more damage to be done. At least one of us should stay dry." Eret hesitated before accepting the cape and putting it back around their shoulders and then pulling Tommy into a side-embrace right to his side. Tommy couldn't help but wince at the sudden warmth against his cold limbs.

The two quickly shuffled to the castle, Eret having to save Tommy from falling several times. As soon as they were in the castle Eret straightened up again and opened his cape, letting it carelessly falling to the ground.

A harsh wind was going through the castle from the garden to the open door, exactly where they stood. Tommy felt his knees start to get weak, but before he had to say a word, he felt arms under legs and shoulders, lifting him off the ground and carrying him into warmer parts of the castle.

Eret pitied the young boy. They still had no idea why Tommy was out here, and they had a feeling Tommy wouldn’t tell him, but as they looked down on him, he looked so vulnerable that it hurt Eret.

They put Tommy down next to his own bed. They grew up in a rich household, but they always got in trouble. Eret remembered what their nanny always did when they came home soaked like Tommy was and silently thanked every god there was that Tommy hadn’t outgrown Eret yet.

They quickly got the thickest and softest clothes they owned out and started carefully undressing Tommy, trying to ignore how skinny the boy was and the many scars from were covering his body. They tried especially hard to ignore the big scar where an arrow undoubtedly pierced his chest. The emphasis is on “try”.

Tommy’s mind was fuzzy, he was barely able to form a proper thought. He barely noticed Eret taking his clothes off and being put into a lot thicker, and dry, clothes seconds later. He also didn’t notice the king wiping away forming tears before he was moved again into a soft bed.

A coughing fit made Eret flinch. They had lived long enough in L’Manberg to know they were short on supplies, especially since most of their supplies were exploded by the TNT Eret placed, a well-calculated strike to destroy the few things they had left. A cold could prove to be deadly if it went untreated.

With a soft expression, Eret covered Tommy with their blanket and took his clothes to put them next to a fire so they’d be dry in the morning. When they came back up Tommy was moving around, he seemed to be having a nightmare.

Eret’s expression softened even further and after taking their shoes off and changing into the most comfortable clothes Eret went to bed himself, Tommy immediately grabbing his arm.

Eret remembered all too well how they all slept in the same room in just several beds next to each other and how more than not they’d sleep in a big pile. “Wilb’r?” The delirious boy mumbled and Eret sighed soundlessly. They should just keep the boy calm and saying who they were would _not_ calm him down, so they said in a quiet whisper: “I’m here Tommy, sleep.”

The king would never admit it, but the calming expression that washed over Tommy’s face made them relax quite a bit. Eret never regretted their decision to join dream. It secured them a place in high ranking places, being a king.

And just like predicted, L’Manberg lost the war. They could argue however they wanted that they got their freedom, but the negotiations were negotiations of surrender from the L’Manberg side. Eret was on the winning side, the king of the winning side to be exact.

But now, Tommy being in a terrible condition and with his scarred torso still in mind, Eret wished they stayed loyal. Maybe the war would’ve ended differently. Maybe Tommy would be less on edge. Maybe Eret would be able to sleep without nightmares.

Eret sighed, their eyes strayed out of the window where the storm was still raging. Slowly with long and skinny arms wrapped around their waist, they slipped into a light sleep.

When Tommy woke up in the morning the two didn’t talk about the elephant in the room. Eret merely made the boy food and packed a bag with potions, magical ingredients but also simply soup and tea. Tommy changed into his old clothes that were now dry from the fire and despite his frequent sneezes and coughing fits, he left the castle before dawn they reached midday.

When Eret saw the boy a week later, he seemed completely fine. Neither talked of the event ever again, but instead of hate and resentment, Tommy’s eyes seemed softer whenever they met Eret’s. And maybe, just maybe, Eret’s nightmares started to become less frequent the wounds began to heal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'd like to apologize for the lack of content, but I have started writing literally 10 chapters but stopped halfway through and then just wrote this chapter in like 1 1/2 hours lol


	6. i fought by your side (should've looked back to see who i was fighting)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> prompt by: me  
> Plot: The day of the war between Pogtopia and Manberg has become. Pogtopia was prepared for a traitor, but not for several.  
> TW: (light) gore, betrayal, (non-permanent) character death, indications of trauma  
> Additional info: au of November 16th; CHARACTER DEATH (not permanent); immoral characters; i won't spoil who the traitors are, but traitor!au :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NOTE: i wrote this before monday! i was aware it would not play out like this, so I guess it's an AU

The day had come. Weeks of passive-aggressive fighting, arguing, shouting, negotiating and minor physical altercations had led up to this day. Wilbur, Tommy and their people were on their way to Manberg. They would try to get to the white house and publicly execute Schlatt. The position of president would automatically be given to Fundy, who was the highest-ranking follower of Schlatt left, and Fundy would give the position of president to Wilbur.

Yes, Schlatt knew Fundy was with Pogtopia, but he never officially exiled or even just demoted him. Fundy was legally still Schlatt's second in command.

Tommy, Wilbur, Techno, Tubbo, Fundy, Quackity, Sam, Bad, and Skeppy were on one side of the fight. Their opposition was the original Dream SMP, Dream, George, Sapnap, Punz, and Antfrost.

Even if the Manberg side was outnumbered, Tommy knew they had the better fighters. Dream alone was worth three men, and that only in combat. Sapnap and Punz were both way above average and George and Ant were about average. But there was still one thing. The traitor.

Tommy was convinced it was Techno, but Wilbur said it didn't matter either way, what could one person possibly change. Foolish thoughts, according to Tubbo, especially when talking about Technoblade.

This mistrust was the reason Tommy gave command of a small group to Tubbo. They would split from the main group and approach the white house from behind, sneaking in and taking Schlatt hostage and stopping Manberg from fighting against their takeover.

The group was Tubbo, Sam, Ponk, and Niki. Wilbur wanted to send Techno with them at first, but they needed someone to match Dream and, quite frankly, Tommy didn't trust him enough to send him with Tubbo.

Just before going up the mountain were Eret's tower stood, the group stopped. Sam and Tubbo opened a hidden tunnel that faintly reminded everyone that fought in the first war of the tunnel in which Eret revealed his true loyalties. If only they knew how similar this tunnel actually was.

Tommy looked at Tubbo, the boy was calm and collected, but Tommy was sure on the inside he was dying. "Tubbo." Their eyes met and Tommy put his hands on his brother's shoulders. “Stay safe."

Tubbo smiled and put his hand on Tommy's hand. "I’ll see you on the other side." There was something in his voice that Tommy couldn't quite place. He wasn’t sure if he had ever talk Tubbo this seriously. Even in the previous wars he was always smiling or at least trying to stay positive. The warm sunshine in his eyes was gone, replaced by cold calm.

Around them the last goodbyes were said, Niki was hugging Wilbur, Ponk was talking to Skeppy and Bad, and Sam was in a firm hug with Fundy.

Tubbo stepped back, making Tommy’s arms drop from his shoulders, and looked at Wilbur. He had a serious expression. Today he would either become president or a terrorist. Tubbo nodded, Wilbur returning the gesture.

Tubbo was the first person to walk down into the tunnel. Directly behind him was Sam, who had to duck to fit into the tunnel due to his height. Behind Sam was Niki and the group ended with Ponk.

Wordlessly the four walked through the tunnel. Tubbo wasn’t nervous. He knew what was about to happen, what he was about to do. They rounded a corner and Tubbo saw the light at the end of the tunnel.

“Be ready, we don’t know what is going to await us on the other side.” Tubbo said while looking back. His eyes met Sam’s, who sent him a short nod. He was ready.

A smirk flashed across Tubbo’s lips. He reached the end and with three quick steps was outside. Sam was exiting the tunnel next to him at the same time and both drew their swords, pointing them at their enemies.

Ponk and Niki climbed out behind them, freezing when they found the tip of two swords against their chests. Niki looked at Tubbo. Her mouth was slightly open, her eyes wide. She tried to say something, but her voice failed her. Instead, she let out a raspy “Tubbo?”, Ponk used the moment of distraction to draw his sword, but before he could land a hit, Sam’s sword was buried deep in his chest.

He dropped to the floor and Niki let out a scared and shocked gasp, she tried to back up but Tubbo immediately followed, his sword always staying right at her heart. Niki looked back at Tubbo; tears were starting to form in her eyes. “Tubbo… Why?”

The man in question lifted an eyebrow. “Sad that they fooled you enough that you have to ask that. Everywhere Tommy and Wilbur go they start arguments, conflict, and war. Wherever they go the two get to decide everything, treating me like their secretary.” He scoffed. “I’m done.”

Niki slowly shook her head, when she blinked the tears started flowing. “But you were literally Schlatt’s secretary! Tommy and Wilbur are your friends!” Tubbo rolled his eyes in response and sighed deeply, causing his sword to move forward just enough to contact Niki’s armor, she flinched at the quiet noise.

“Niki, please stop being stupid. I’m working with Dream. Not Schlatt.” She slowly shook her head and whispered in a pleading tone: “Whatever he promised you, it can’t be worth it!”

Tubbo’s eyes narrowed. “He didn’t _offer_ me anything. _I_ went to _him_ and offered him my services. I am my own person, capable of making my own choices, Niki!”

She was shaking. Tubbo was the traitor? It was an impossible thought. Tubbo was Tommy’s right-hand man, always by his side. Even the idea that he could betray Tommy was… just absurd. But... that was his point, wasn't it? He didn't want to be just Tommy's friend anymore. So, he chose the opposing side.

“Tubbo.” Tubbo looked back. Sam had just finished looting Ponk’s body and was now glancing between him and Niki. “We need to go.” Tubbo nodded and looked back at Niki who began shaking her head and backing up.

Tubbo followed, never letting her get further away than a few steps, until she stumbled over a root and was cowering on the floor on her back. “Tubbo, please… Please don’t do this,” she begged, one hand slightly in the air, as if that would stop the netherite sword from piercing her chest.

“I’m sorry Niki, but don’t take it personally…” He smiled cruelly. “You’re just collateral damage.” He moved faster than Niki could react, letting himself completely drop onto Niki, his right knee beside her right side and his left leg to her left shoulder, towering literally over her as he buried his sword deep in her chest.

His position, so close to the dying woman, made this death 10 times worse. Sam had to avert his eyes. He betrayed Wilbur and Tommy too, no doubt about it but… He felt remorse for killing Ponk, a total stranger. Tubbo seemed to revel in Niki’s death, and the two were friends.

Tubbo kept eye-contact with Niki, watching as the energy started to leave her eyes. He felt a wet, warm touch on his cheek. Niki’s hand was brushing over his cheek in an almost motherly way, until it dropped, and her body went completely limp, only being held up in a sitting position by Tubbo’s sword.

Tubbo stood up and removed his sword in a fluid motion from her body. His blade was covered in blood and Tubbo smiled at the sight. He looked back. He didn’t miss Sam’s expression of doubt but didn’t comment on it. “Come on we got to go,” Tubbo said without showing any emotion and walked past Sam, once again he didn’t miss Sam’s reaction, even if this time it was a reaction of fear.

They walked crouched, quickly approaching the white house from behind. Dream purposefully planted trees around Manberg again just so Tubbo and Sam had cover and could sneak around without being spotted.

Schlatt opened a hidden door from the inside and they came in. Neither liked working with Schlatt, but Sam certainly liked what was about to come. Even if he still had the picture of Tubbo killing Niki in his mind, he pulled Tubbo into a hug. "Be careful. Don't let them see you."

Tubbo nodded and grabbed the bucket with animal blood in it. He began splattering the floor at the door with it and making a trail towards the river behind the hill they were on, as if someone got stabbed and dragged themself to the river. He dumped the remaining blood into the river and went into his position.

Inside the white house, Sam and Schlatt heard Wilbur and his men arrive. He heard him and Dream argue. Dream was speaking in a passive-aggressive, but calm tone, as always, while Wilbur regularly interrupted himself and Dream with crazed laughter. Sam scoffed. Wilbur really lost it.

He looked out of the window, carefully so he wouldn't be spotted, and waited until he saw Tubbo was disappearing into the woods to take position. "Alright. It's go-time," he announced and calmly unsheathed his sword. Schlatt turned towards the door and let Sam put the sword to his neck. "Make sure not to actually kill me, creeper boy."

Sam sighed and rolled is shoulders to stretch his muscles. "You should worry more about Fundy." Schlatt smirked. "He _is_ a wild one, isn't he.“ It wasn't a question, so Sam didn't answer. Instead, they inched closer to the door.

Sam readied and muttered a last: "Sorry for whatever happens next." Schlatt nodded and Sam didn't miss the way he gulped. Even if he pretended not to care, Sam knew Schlatt was at least a little intimidated by the sword to his neck.

The creeper hybrid gained momentum by taking a step back and then kicked the locked door open, dragged Schlatt outside, and held the sword close to his throat. He smirked on the inside, while carrying a panicked expression on his face. Their plan would work.

Tubbo knew how dangerous this was. He was supposed to sneak up on Technoblade and kill him. It was his last active duty in this plan, as soon as he took his shot he'd have to run and hide. The Pogtopians could not see him, if they did their whole plan would fall apart.

He heard talking, arguing. He walked crouched again, running from tree to tree to hide, until he reached the correct tree. He waited until he heard a sudden crack and a gasp, then shouting, but also laughing. Sam had just come out with Schlatt, Tubbo took his chance.

He climbed the tree as fast as he could, quickly reaching the prepared spot where a crossbow was waiting for him. Tubbo sat down and with calm hands loaded the crossbow. It was a poisonous arrow, even if the shot missed a deadly spot, it would certainly weaken Techno.

Now Tubbo only had to wait until Tommy was gone, then he'd take the shot.

As Tommy was listening to Dream, he became more and more anxious. Tubbo still hadn't arrived as it seemed. Were they in trouble? Dream seemed confident. It didn't look like it bothered him that he was outnumbered by two people, one of them being Technoblade.

"… Schlatt is the democratically elected leader of Manberg. Now back off, of you will feel the consequences." He glanced at Tommy. "Just like last time."

Tommy barely avoided a flinch. The duel still was a sore spot, literally. His chest still sometimes ached where the arrow hit him. Respawning wasn't fun. It was painful, physically, and mentally. It wasn't the first or the last time that he respawned, but it definitely was the worst one. Being caught in the void, feeling as his wound was slowly healing and not knowing if his friends were okay or not, if they were slaughtered or alive…

Tommy closed his eyes to steady himself for a second. When he opened them again, he saw Dream smirk and cursed himself. He had given Dream what he wanted; he had let the words get to him.

Tommy was ripped out of his dark memories by the door bursting open. He half expected to see Schlatt, ready to give a speech or something. He was half right. It was Schlatt, but also the green-haired creeper-hybrid, Sam. He dragged Schlatt out and pressed his sword against Schlatt's neck.

Tommy heard rustling in a tree behind him but ignored it. This was more important. A laugh escaped his lips. He knew he had nothing to worry about, Tubbo always held his promises. But… where was Tubb? Sam wasn't smiling and didn't seem confident. His eyes were wild and scared. He was also alone.

Tommy interrupted the shouting that started shortly after Sam arrived with a simple question: "Sam? Where is Tubbo?"

Sam's eyes focused on him; he was shaking. "I'm sorry Tommy. They knew we were coming." Tommy felt sick. "Where is he." Sam stepped aside, dragging Schlatt with him, who let out a yelp when the sword cut into his neck and nodded towards the door.

Tommy stormed past Dream into the white house. It reeked of blood, the blood making a trail that lead out of a hole in the wall towards the river. Tommy didn't even register shouting behind him as he bolted. The blood was pretty fresh, Tubbo couldn't have gone far.

The tracks stopped at the river. Tubbo must've fallen in. Tommy was about to follow the river when he saw a foot sticking out of the woods.

Without a second of hesitation, he jumped into the river, swam through, and ran towards it. Ponk. He was stabbed in the chest, his foot was still dangling into the tunnel, he was either stabbed as soon as he left it or when he was about to enter it again. Tommy looked further. Niki was a few feet away. Her entire clothes were covered in blood as if she was held upright after she was stabbed for some time.

The stench of blood made him gag and he felt his knees buckle under him, but he forced himself to remain standing. He needed to find Tubbo. Maybe he was somewhere here and just washed the blood off in the river. "Tubbo?" He stumbled further, ignoring the tears in his eyes as he passed Niki's body. "Tubbo!"

Suddenly Tommy was on the floor. The world was fuzzy, and he felt his stomach rebel. His head was ringing, and he was confused as to what happened. Until he turned around and saw George above him. He had slammed the blunt side of his sword on Tommy's head. Before Tommy could even react, George's boot made contact with Tommy's head and knocked him out cold.

Wilbur watched Tommy run into the white house. He was frozen. It was all falling apart, three of his men were missing and Tommy just ran away. But at the same time, Sam had Schlatt.

Fundy quickly followed Tommy but stopped in the door, right behind Sam and Schlatt. Wilbur saw a smirk on Schlatt's face and froze. Fundy had his sword drawn and pointed at Sam.

"Sam, let the president go." Wilbur slowly shook his head, more disappointed than surprised. Sam glanced behind him. "Fundy? You're the traitor?"

Fundy took a step closer and growled in a low tone: "I said: let. him. go." Sam looked at Wilbur, the fear evident in his eyes. Wilbur couldn't blame him. Respawning hurt like hell.

Sam slowly removed his sword from Schlatt's throat, Schlatt stepped aside and smirked. "Good work Fundy. I knew I could trust you." Fundy had Sam in a headlock in seconds, squeezing hard enough that Sam was struggling for air, but not hard enough that his air supply was completely cut off.

"Thank you, Mr. President," he said in a cold voice and looked at Wilbur. "Fundy… why? Why you? I am your father! We're a family! How could you betray us like that?!" Wilbur shouted; Techno put a hand on his chest to stop him from storming towards the two.

Fundy smirked. "Sorry, _Dad_ , but I will choose Dream over you any day." Wilbur glanced at Dream, who was smiling almost softly.

"You bastard!" Wilbur bolted, catching Dream by surprise as he had been looking at Fundy. Dream was thrown to the ground, Wilbur lifted his sword, ready to stab him right in the neck, but a kick in the side sent him to the floor. He looked up to see Sapnap above Dream and grimaced.

Dream stood up; his soft smile gone. Instead, he said in a hard tone: "I was going to offer a compromise, but not anymore." He unsheathed his sword and shouted, seemingly at no one: "Now!"

Almost immediately everyone heard a soft snap and then a disgusting gurgling. Wilbur looked around. Who was hit? His eyes fell on Techno, his brother. He was clenching his throat; his hands were covered in blood pouring out of his neck. A crossbow bolt was stuck in his neck. Techno fell to his knees. Someone was screaming.

Quackity bolted, trying to get to Dream, but he was blocked by Ant. Dream slowly approached Techno who was still fighting against death on the floor.

"Sorry Techno. Nothing personal." His sword soared down, right into Techno's heart. "Just a casualty of war."

A fight broke out, but Wilbur knew they had lost. Tommy, Tubbo, Niki and Ponk were missing. Fundy was a traitor. Sam was held by Fundy in a tight grip. Techno was dead. Only Wilbur, Quackity, Skeppy, and Bad were left.

Only now Wilbur noticed George was missing as well. Since when? His train of thought was interrupted when an armored body walked into his line of sight. He looked up to see the cat hybrid, Antfrost, approach him. Behind him the fighting had already stopped, everyone was defeated in minutes.

Quackity was held under Sapnap, he was kicking and screaming. Skeppy was held close to Punz's chest, a sword at his neck and Bad was on his knees, clutching an injury on his arm and Dream's sword against his chest. Sam was pinned against a wall by Fundy, he seemed barely conscious.

Wilbur didn't fight as Ant drag him over, tears rolling over his face. Ant took his bow and stripped him off his armor, leaving him completely defenseless. He was bound to a tree with his hands in the air.

Slowly everyone else was next to him as well, but at least their enemies had the decency to take care of any bigger wounds first. When everyone was tied up George finally appeared. He had Tommy thrown over his shoulder, blood was dripping from a shallow wound in his head. If he didn't clearly see Tommy breathing Wilbur might've actually lost it.

While Sapnap made sure Tommy was secured on the floor, Dream carried Techno's body away, and Punz, Ant, and George disappeared back into the woods. Schlatt had disappeared into the white house a long time ago, as soon as the fighting broke out to be exact.

"Will?" He looked up. Quackity was staring at him. "Is… is it really over?" Will looked at everyone. They were tied up and bandages applied by the enemy were covering their bodies. Three missing and one confirmed dead. One unconscious. He nodded. "For now, it's over. I'm sorry."

Silence settled over the group until Dream came out of the woods. He approached them, said something in a quiet voice to Sapnap and then finally turned to them.

"Techno, Niki, and Ponk are dead. We will keep them in cells until the respawn, then they will be reunited with you. Tubbo is in critical condition, we're still debating what to do with him." Wilbur shook his head. "Was it worth it, Dream? Was it worth killing three people just to be in power?"

Dream sighed as if Wilbur was a child. "Oh, Wilbur. I killed no one today. I shortened Techno's suffering, he would've died anyways, I did him a favor. And the others… that was someone else."

Wilbur refused to ask, instead just staring back with an icy glare. Instead, after a few seconds of staring, Quackity interrupted them: "Who?" Dream broke off the eye contact with Wilbur and looked at Quackity instead.

He smiled. "You'll see soon enough." He took a step back, effectively ending the conversation and walked away.

Wilbur was left feeling empty. Even if he always argued that they got their independence and thus won the war, rationally he knew they lost the first war, and now this one as well. He was tired.

"Tubbo. How are you? Did everything go ok?" Tubbo looked up. Dream entered the room; his mask was off, and he wasn't wearing armor anymore.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Tubbo answered, and then asked with a shit-eating grin: "Did you see my shot? That was a fucking amazing shot." He laughed loudly and Dream grinned back.

"It really was you were amazing. You had the most to do and you did great." He put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm truly proud of you." Tubbo beamed and smirked.

"So, what now?" Tubbo asked and inched closer, Dream was pretty sure the boy was shaking in excitement.

He sat down opposite of him and leaned back. Even if the fight was short, his back ached from when Wilbur threw him to the ground. Finally getting out of his armor was a big relief.

"You have two choices. Join them as a spy or reveal yourself to them. I mean, you could also just ignore them and let them figure out you're a spy but… Where is the flair in that?" Dream smirked playfully and Tubbo chuckled before becoming serious. He noticed Sapnap standing in the door watching them but didn't pay him anymore mind than that.

"As soon as Ponk and Niki respawn they'd out me and Sam anyways. I don't think I should go back." His eyes hardened. "I don't _want_ to go back."

Dream nodded. In his eyes was complete understanding and Tubbo smiled to himself. Dream always let him decide, included him in plans and respected his decisions. Sure, Tubbo wasn't stupid, he knew this was partly just because Dream knew it was the exact thing that would win Tubbo over, but he still appreciated it.

"I hope you will honor our agreement, Dream," Tubbo said and Dream smirked. "Of course. As soon as I talk to them, Tommy, Wilbur and Quackity will be exiled from our lands and you will be the president of Manberg."

Tubbo smirked back. He would change things. Manberg would no longer be this unorganized mess. He would sign a treaty with Dream and bring order to Manberg. No more anarchy. Peace. No matter the price he'd have to pay for it.

Dream knew what was going on inside Tubbo. He went through exactly the same thing when he became the ruler of Esempee. He wasn’t sure why, but he only began to rise when he became more ruthless and crueler. He loved his friends, he would risk a permadeath for them, but he had no sympathy for his enemy. As he looked at Tubbo, he saw himself in the boy’s eyes again. Maybe Tubbo one day would be one of these friends.

Sapnap, who was still watching, felt chills go down his spine. Dream was an extremely loyal friend, but Sapnap wasn’t stupid. He knew how manipulative and cruel his best friend could be.

Tubbo was smart enough to be Dream's successor and broken enough to be a more successful and cruel war general than him. Something was broken in Tubbo, he was broken, and it was terrifying to see. Sapnap did not want to cross them. Ever.

"Well, let's go get your vice president to where he belongs," Dream said and stood up. Tubbo mirrored him and nodded confidently: "Let's get Sam."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was originally a lot longer and i have written several endings that I all scratched... i decided to shorten it because honestly, the pacing, in the end, was just so slow, i literally couldn't go on. Maybe I'll add a part two sometime where i write the aftermath
> 
> SPOILERS FOR THE 16TH AHEAD:  
> jesus christ the stream was amazing. i knew Dream wasn't surrendering for real, there is no way his ego would take that hit lmao. Techno and Wilbur being the traitors is the best and most logical plot twist ever, I love it. Sad to see Wilbur go (I know he isn't gone completely), but I'm just happy it ended on such an amazing end. I'm just confused... what did Schlatt sign? remember when Dream said Schlatt signed something? What... Happened to that?


End file.
